ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · march · wind · patient · kid · face

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. face — to point toward
  8. net — after costs
  9. march — the month
  10. net — for catching
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — in sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. kid — to tease
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com